Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 295 Cindy
Meanwhile, Caroline's spirit was being dragged towards the contaminated layer by a powerful force. Lian Xuan's soul left his body to guard Caroline's spirit, fighting against the pulling force; while Lian De raised the dilapidated shrine he carried with him, which emitted a faint white light, and chanted incantations, trying to use the remaining holy power to dispel the approaching evil.

"Show yourself!" Lian Xuan's soul roared, cooperating with Lian De's divine power to forcibly disrupt the evil spirit's concealment!

A blurry, distorted, terrifying figure, resembling a withered old woman, loomed by the bedside! It opened its black, hole-like mouth and let out a silent roar, attempting to pierce through the glass and suck Caroline's soul!

At the same time, Lian Xuan saw that the demon-hunting crossbow bolt was stuck in the throat of the evil spirit!

"Ow!!!"

A piercing scream, sharp enough to strike directly at the soul, erupted!
The part of the evil spirit struck by the crossbow bolt hissed and emitted thick black smoke, as if it had been doused with strong acid! It writhed wildly, trying to pull out the crossbow bolt that had severed it and once hunted its ancestors!
The Lian brothers seized the opportunity, unleashing a soul shock and holy light simultaneously, which slammed into the wounded evil spirit!

With a roar filled with extreme resentment and unwillingness, the blurry evil spirit could no longer maintain its form, collapsing and dissipating like a shattered mirror, and was forcibly thrown back into the depths of the annihilation layer!

They barely held on in the first round. But everyone knew that this was far from over.

With the initial battle won and the attack of the evil spirit temporarily repelled, the atmosphere in the Perrin family mansion became unusually relaxed.

To celebrate this small victory and boost morale, everyone threw a party, and the host, Roger Perrin, specially opened a bottle of his treasured champagne.

He first poured wine for Blood Lord and Jiang Jin, who had made the greatest contributions, and sincerely toasted them to express his gratitude.

However, the Blood Lord simply shook his head coldly, his tone leaving no room for negotiation: "Since that evil spirit is still around, I won't drink anymore."

His refusal caused a slight pause, but it was quickly dispelled by the chattering of the children.

The children were very curious about these Chinese people, after all, for Americans in 1971, distant China was full of mystery.

The children surrounded Blood Lord and Jiang Jin, asking them questions about China.

The Blood Lord seemed to be in a pretty good mood, and unusually, he answered all questions.

When Nancy asked him where in China he was from, he simply replied, "Shanghai."

"Shanghai!" the children exclaimed. In the minds of Europeans and Americans at the time, Shanghai and Hong Kong were the most famous Chinese cities in the West; the former was even once known as the "Paris of the Far East." Afterwards, they pressed Blood Lord for more detailed questions, such as what he studied in university and whether China had courses in occultism.

Blood Lord seemed to have been stirred by some distant memories, and continued, "No, I studied International Economics and Trade in college..."

He paused, then said, "But actually I don't like this. Back then I liked novels, especially romance novels for female readers."

"Female-oriented novels?" The Perrons and Warrens both looked puzzled.

“We do know about romance novels,” Ed Warren said, trying to understand. “What do you mean by ‘female-oriented’? What kind of genre is it? Like Eileen Chang’s novels?”

By 1971, Eileen Chang had already gained some international recognition, and she now resides in the United States.

Blood Lord waved his hand and replied, "I'm just an ordinary person. I don't like reading anything profound. When I was in college, I didn't like playing games and I didn't have much in common with the people around me. So I often went to the school store to watch Korean dramas on TV. Later, I spent all my time in the library and read the entire series of Qiong Yao novels."

"Qiong Yao?" Everyone except the reincarnators asked in confusion, "Who is that?"

Blood Lord explained, "Oh, she's a very famous romance novelist from Taiwan, China."

Although Chiung Yao had created a large number of works and adapted them into films in Taiwan in the 60s and 70s, her fame in the United States in 1971 was almost zero.

Jiang Jin, standing to the side, was stunned and couldn't help but whisper to confirm, "Really? You're not kidding, are you? My mom never finished reading all of Qiong Yao's works when she was young?"

Blood Lord glanced at him, his expression calm: "It's true. What's there to be ashamed of? Who hasn't done something foolish when they were young?"

He seemed to recall the days when he would sneakily read books in the library, adding, "But back then, I did feel embarrassed for a guy to borrow Qiong Yao's books, so I would just read them in the library and not dare to borrow them."

Jiang Jin was unsure what expression to make for a moment.

The eldest daughter, Andrea, asked curiously, "Are those books... as good as 'Pride and Prejudice' or 'Little Women'?"

Blood Lord was silent for a moment, a trace of wistful sadness flashing in his eyes: "I think it's about the same. Elizabeth, Joe... I was too young back then. I only thought that love was infinitely beautiful and loyal, that it could be engraved for a lifetime and never change until death... Later I realized that it was just an illusion I had before I left the ivory tower."

After the party, everyone started cleaning up the dishes and washing the glasses.

Blood Lord looked out at the deepening twilight and said to Jiang Jin beside him, "When we get back, I will find Lin Zhen and kill him. As for you, you must prepare to go to the [Midnight Bell] instance."

Jiang Jin's expression hardened, and he nodded solemnly: "I understand."

Watching Blood Lord's retreating figure as he prepared to leave, Jiang Jin suddenly spoke up: "You just said that love was an illusion you had before you left the ivory tower, right?"

Blood Lord stopped in his tracks, but did not turn around.

Jiang Jin watched his retreating figure and said earnestly, "I don't think so. At least... I don't."

Blood Lord seemed to pause slightly. He slowly turned his head, his deep gaze meeting Jiang Jin's for a moment.

Jiang Jin understood a lot from his eyes.

Jiang Jin now understood why the Blood Lord deliberately defiled himself, collecting a large number of prostitutes and prostitutes around him like a stamp collector. His behavior was essentially a form of self-exile; he was mocking and punishing his past self by polluting himself.

...As dusk fell, Blood Lord continued his cultivation alone in a secluded corner of the living room, attempting to stabilize his realm. He felt that he was getting closer and closer to completely returning to the level of LV3 Soul Refiner.

His mind kept replaying Jiang Jin's words.

This reminded him of even more distant and unbearable memories.

He first truly became a "man" from a "boy" through a "special service".

At that time, he, Long Cang, and Duan She, who had died in the [Head Balloon], went to the Yaochi Club, a very famous brothel in the reincarnation circle, intending to have fun there and release the pressure brought by the dungeon.

When selecting "special service personnel," someone handed him a list.

There was a special "package" listed, featuring two extremely explicit and obscene photos of two women named Georgia and Aurora. The description stated that they were both reincarnated individuals who had always worked in this field.

Some high-ranking government officials have a particular fondness for prostitutes who are reincarnated, as they experience a unique sense of "conquest." These two women are even bundled together as a package deal, not available individually, hence the slightly higher price.

At the time, under the encouragement and urging of Long Cang and Duan She, Blood Lord impulsively ordered this set meal.

He remembered that just before he went in, he saw a man come out of the room with his belt not fastened properly and a satisfied yet contemptuous expression on his face.

The man didn't look like a reincarnator; he was just a wealthy ordinary person. At that moment, he realized that a reincarnator selling himself to an ordinary person meant that the price offered was indeed quite high, enough to make a powerful reincarnator abandon his dignity.

After that… that first experience of lovemaking was far from pleasant; it was more like a rough, clumsy rite of passage into adulthood. The two women immediately recognized that he was a virgin, and their laughter made him incredibly embarrassed.

Afterwards, he asked the two women why they, as reincarnators with extraordinary powers, were doing this.

Their answer was realistic and cruel: "The big shots who patronize this place are generous, offering resources, intelligence, and even direct payments of resentment crystals. It's much more 'safe' and more profitable than the life-or-death struggles we face in the horror dungeons."

At that moment, a sense of absurdity welled up in Blood Lord's heart. But then he suddenly felt that these prostitutes, with their clearly marked prices and cash transactions, were far more noble than the White Night mother and daughter, whom he had once treated sincerely but who had turned around and framed him, causing him to lose his hope of advancement and ruin his reputation. At least, they had a lot of "professional ethics."

So, still somewhat impulsive at the time, he said to them, "You two, don't do this anymore. From now on... come with me."

Recalling this, a cold, self-deprecating smile crept onto Blood Lord's lips. Those absurd past events, now reflected upon, were both a form of depravity and a cruel severing of his former self—one who believed in "love" and yearned for "purity." Jiang Jin was right; he was punishing his former naive self through self-contamination.

at this time--

"what!!!"

A sharp, piercing scream, belonging to a little girl, suddenly rang out from inside the house! It was Cindy's voice!

Blood Lord was instantly jolted awake from his reverie, his expression changing drastically!
This is indeed a plot point from the original movie—the ghost "Rory" takes the sleepwalking Cindy into a room and locks her up!
But... that ghost named "Rory" was already refined by him! How could it still happen?!
He rushed back into the house like a cheetah! The moment he stepped through the door, an extremely discordant feeling came over him—he felt a bone-chilling cold on the left side of his body, while the right side remained at a normal temperature!

Rule number eight flashed through my mind: If one side of your body feels icy cold while the other side is at a normal temperature, remain still in your current position and repeatedly say the full date of today until the temperature returns to normal. Do not mention any historical years at this time.

But at this moment, he couldn't care less about the rules! Cindy's cries and the Perrin family's panicked shouts came from the second floor!
Everyone gathered at the door of a room on the second floor. The door was locked from the inside, and no matter how Roger and Caroline tried to bang on it, it wouldn't budge.

The Warrens were extremely anxious. Rowling tried to sense things with her psychic abilities, but it seemed as if she was being blocked by some force.

"Get out of the way!" Blood Lord roared, ignoring the abnormal temperature on his sides. He gathered his remaining soul power and, together with Jiang Jin beside him, slammed into the door!
boom!
The door was finally kicked open!

However, Cindy was nowhere to be found in the room!

"Cindy! Cindy?!" Caroline frantically searched the room, but her youngest daughter was nowhere to be found.

The Perrins collapsed instantly. Roger slumped to the ground, Caroline cried out in despair, and the other girls also cried in fear.

The glimmer of hope that had just appeared was instantly swallowed up by even greater despair.

Looking at the empty room, Blood Lord suddenly remembered something.

With trembling hands, he took out the graffiti painting that Cindy had given him earlier.

When he unfolded the drawing paper, he felt a chill run from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, and his vision went black, as if the sky were falling and the earth was splitting open!

In the painting, next to the "Blood Lord" figure whose head was originally severed, a little girl drawn in simple lines has appeared—it is Cindy!
In the painting, Cindy is being dragged into the endless darkness by a withered, dark ghostly hand that extends from the edge of the picture!
"Do not!!!"

Blood Lord looked at the graffiti Cindy had drawn on him and his body began to tremble.

In his mind, the words of the cute girl who looked exactly like little Murphy from Interstellar began to surface.

"Uncle... thank you. With you here, we're not so scared anymore."

In that instant, the Blood Lord let out a ghostly howl as shrill as a wounded beast!
The frenzied soul power erupted uncontrollably, causing the entire room to buzz!

His eyes were bloodshot, and veins bulged on his forehead. All his composure and calculation vanished at this moment, leaving only boundless rage!

He clutched the painting tightly, and facing the empty room, at this house filled with malice, he roared in his most ferocious fury: "Basshiba! You son of a bitch! I will kill you!!!"

(End of this chapter)